Naif Al-Mutawa, CEO of THE 99, fosters interfaith dialogue through a comic series that features Muslim characters and culture. Here, he describes the process of his characters merging with traditional, Western comic characters, censorship, funding - and using a big idea that began in a taxicab to change the world.

Naif Al-Mutawa

Naif Al‐Mutawa is the creator of THE 99, the first group of comic superheroes born of an Islamic archetype, and the founder and CEO of Teshkeel Media Group. Naif holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University, where he also completed his MA in Clinical Psychology. Additionally, he holds an MBA degree from Columbia University and an MA in Organizational Psychology from Teacher’s College, Columbia University. Naif has been named one of the 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World by The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in Jordan. He also earned a Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurship Award (2009) and was named a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum (2011).